Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Case Review

Posted by Gilgamesh on May 10th, 2012

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We removed the left side panel to have our first look at the inside of the Overseer RX-I. The left side panel itself has a place to mount a 200 mm fan (optional), and there is also a filter applied to the opening.

As you can see the entire inside area is painted black with a matte finish.

As we look at the motherboard tray area, the items of note are the five rubber grommet holes, and three non grommet holes for cable management. There is also a large sized hole cut out of the motherboard tray to allow easy access to the CPU coolers retention mechanism. Also worth noting is the ability to mount not only mATX and ATX sized boards, but also EATX.

The bottom power supply mounting area is protected by the slide out filter we previously mentioned, and has an option to mount an additional 120 mm fan. This would also make a great spot to mount a pump/reservoir combination unit, if you decide to install a water cooling setup.

Moving up the back we find the eight ventilated PCI expansion slot covers, all of which are held in place by thumb screws. Above the expansion slots is an included 120 mm Turbo Fan (1000 RPM).

Turning our attention to the top panel area, there is an included 200 mm blue LED fan with an option to add another. The top panel can be easily removed to expose the 200 mm fan, and the inner workings of the front I/O area. If you remove the 200 mm fan, there is room to mount a thin 240 mm radiator up top, and then have the two 120 mm fans below.

As we make our way to the drive bay area of the interior, you can see the three 5.25″ drive bays and the 3.5″ bay below them. Installing a 5.25″ drives only entails sliding it into place and allowing the rocker style drive lock to do its thing. When you slide a drive in, it slides past a lever which raised the lock. Once the drive has slid in to its final location the rocker will engage the drive and secure it. You can also add additional mounting screws if so desired. The external 3.5″ bay is complete with a 5.25″ to 3.5″ adapter built in to the opening.

There are five 3.5″ drive bays at your disposal, and all of the slide out trays will also accept a 2.5″ SSD. To install a HDD to the trays, simply set it in the tray and line up the holes. There are rubber insulators applied to each of the mounting holes, and shouldered screws to use with them are in the accessory pack.

With the front panel removed we get a good look at the included 200 mm blue LED intake fan, and the knockout plates covering the 5.25″ bays. Additionally, a large mesh type filter has been installed to the back of the front panel for the 200 mm fan. Each of the drive bay covers also have filters built into them.

In my opinion, all the cable management holes designed in a case are worthless unless there is ample room between the motherboard tray and the right side panel. Thermaltake has made vast improvement in this area over the last year or so, and it shows on the Overseer RX-I. With the outward stamping design of the right panel, coupled with the extended area behind the motherboard tray, you will find more than enough room to hide cables, even the main 24-Pin ATX cable.

Tucked away on the right side are all the I/O wires; all the usual suspects are present and accounted for. There are two SATA cables for the ESATA and Hot Swap bay, and a USB 3.0 for the motherboard header. The USB 2.0 motherboard connector and the HD Audio/AC97 connectors are common place for any case. The power/reset switch and LED motherboard connections are all present, but this time there is a 4-Pin molex connector attached to them. This is to feed power to the pulsating logo at the top of the case.